Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady on Thursday expressed his displeasure over the NFL’s new rule on jersey number. The 43-year-old Brady aired his outrage on his Instagram account, saying “good luck trying to block the right people now!!!!” after the NFL allowed defensive backs to wear 1 to 49 and linebackers to use 1-59 and 90 to 99. Brady added the move is “going to make for a lot of bad football." Wide receiver Julian Edelman, who won three Super Bowl rings while playing alongside Brady for 11 years with the New England Patriots before he announced his retirement recently, tried to calm down Brady’s nerve by posting “12 is so 2001, pi is eternal, just like you buddy” on his Instagram account, while tagging Brady.
The veteran quarterback responded on his Instagram story, telling Edelman “Now that you are a free agent @edelman11, are you buttering me up?”, according to CBS Boston.
Julian Edelman coming out of retirement to join Tom Brady and the Bucs?? 👀 pic.twitter.com/uhttiDTrn4
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) April 23, 2021Bucs still have room for receiver
Before Edelman announced his retirement, there were reports that he could join Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay. Despite Edelman announcing his retirement, Gronkowski is convinced that the veteran wideout may come out of retirement and help the Buccaneers go for back-to-back Super Bowl titles. The Buccaneers still have room for a receiver as they have yet to fill the void left by wideout Antonio Brown.
The Buccaneers want to bring back Brown but they are far apart when it comes to money. The Buccaneers have brought back their key players, including pass rusher Shaquil Barrett, defensive man Ndamukong Suh, linebacker Lavonte David, Gronkowsi, rusher Leonard Fournette and kicker Ryan Succop. The Buccaneers also used their franchise tag on wide receiver Chris Godwin, ensuring that he will stay in Tampa Bay for one more season.
What would Bucs do with No. 32 pick?
The Buccaneers are assured in the starting quarterback position for at least two more years after they signed Brady to a four-year contract extension that is basically a one-year deal. The deal ensures that Brady will remain for at least two more seasons while providing the quarterback with a chance to fulfill his dream of playing until he’s 45 years old.
The Buccaneers also signed Ryan Griffin to back up Brady but there’s a chance that the team could take a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. "Well, there's always pros to drafting a quarterback for us because of our coaching staff," said Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht, citing their coaching staff composed of offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen and assistant coach Tom Moore. Drafting a quarterback of the future now would give the player a chance to learn with Brady before eventually taking over the franchise in case he decides to retire.
